Pemberton and KPop Demon Hunters' Golden Win in Ghent

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British composer Daniel Pemberton and the KPop Demon Hunters hit "Golden" were the big winners at the 26th World Soundtrack Awards. The ceremony took place on Saturday, October 10, during the opening weekend of Film Fest Gent in Belgium. Pemberton was named Film Composer of the Year. "Golden" took Best Original Song, adding another trophy to a run that already includes an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy, according to Billboard. Pemberton's third win in Ghent Pemberton was honoured for his scores for Project Hail Mary , The Drama , The Bad Guys 2 and Masters of the Universe . It is his second time winning Film Composer of the Year, after 2021, and his third award at the ceremony overall: he also won Discovery of the Year in 2014. The awards described his "expansive, organic sci-fi score" for Project Hail Mary as further proof that he is one of the most exciting composers working today. He has scored films for directors including Ridley Scott, Danny Boyle and Guy Ritchie. Variety reports that for Project Hail Mary he experimented with wood, metal and glass, and even drew inspiration from a friend's leaky tap. "It was a case of throwing every crazy idea we could into the score, but at the same time, it had to be really emotional," he said at a roundtable before the ceremony. "I spent a lot of time trying to make people cry." Golden takes Best Original Song "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters was written by Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Teddy Park, and performed by the film's fictional group Huntrix. The awards credited the win to EJAE and Sonnenblick, following their Academy Awards victory. Variety notes that the winners were not there to collect the prize. The song beat a strong field. Other nominees included songs written by Charli xcx and John Cale, by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner, and by Hildur Guðnadóttir and Nia DaCosta. EJAE used the week to push back against genre labels. "As an artist, I don't want myself to be boxed into being a 'K-pop' artist because I don't really view myself as a K-pop artist or a pop artist," she told Variety. "I view myself as a songwriter of every genre." The win is another sign of how far K-pop sounds have travelled into mainstream film music. Grammy , Oscar and now World Soundtrack Award voters have all backed the same song. The full list of winners 2026 World Soundtrack Award winners Film Composer of the Year: Daniel Pemberton (Project Hail Mary, The Drama, The Bad Guys 2, Masters of the Universe) Television Composer of the Year: Jeff Russo (Alien: Earth, Cape Fear, Citadel season 2) Best Original Song: "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters Discovery of the Year: Hannah Peel (Midwinter Break) Public Choice Award: Kevin Smithers (Soy Frankelda) Game Music Award: Nicolas Garcia Belgian Film Composer of the Year: Margaret Hermant Best Original Composition by a Young Composer: Xabier Doural García Lifetime Achievement Award: Trevor Jones Jeff Russo won Television Composer of the Year at his third attempt, after two earlier nominations. He told Variety that drawing on Bernard Herrmann's original 1962 score for Cape Fear made his job "both easier and much harder", because he had to make the two scores sound sympathetic to each other. Northern Irish composer Hannah Peel took Discovery of the Year for Polly Findlay's Midwinter Break . Variety reports that she is now scoring Netflix's series adaptation of Assassin's Creed . Fans voted Kevin Smithers' score for the Mexican stop-motion feature Soy Frankelda as the Public Choice winner. A night of live music The ceremony closed the three-day WSA Film Music Days, which brought professionals together for talks, workshops and masterclasses at Music Centre De Bijloke in Ghent. The awards night doubled as a concert. Brussels Philharmonic, conducted by Dirk Brossé, played music by guest of honour Hildur Guðnadóttir and Lifetime Achievement winner Trevor Jones, who were both present. The programme included themes from 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple , Tár , Joker , The Dark Crystal , The Last of the Mohicans and Notting Hill . Variety reports that Guðnadóttir even picked up her cello to join the orchestra. For more on screen music, see our soundtrack coverage. What's next Film Fest Gent continues after the awards weekend. For the winners, attention now moves to the wider awards season, where film scores and original songs will be judged again. Film festivals elsewhere, such as the BFI London Film Festival , are running at the same time. Sources: World Soundtrack Awards | Variety | Billboard | Screen Daily